The author
Posted on 03/28/2015 12:41:20 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Ferguson will hold municipal elections on April 7. The mayor and five of the six city councilpersons are white. Three are up for reelection. Since Michael Brown was gunned down by former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, the one loud refrain has repeatedly been how could a city where African-Americans make up the overwhelming majority of the population be policed by a nearly all-white police force, and governed by a nearly all-white city administration? The thought was that the Brown slaying angered and engaged so many thousands that it was almost a done deal. The first chance black residents got they’d jam the polls and totally revamp city government in Ferguson.
That would mean the election of a majority black city council and mayor. This in turn could quickly be followed by the hiring of a black city manager and other top level administrators. After that: an overhaul of the police department to make diversity and reform a reality. Eight months after the Brown slaying, the April elections will put that thinking to the test.
But early signs aren’t good. In the nearly three-month period between the day Brown was slain and October 8, only 204 eligible adults in Ferguson registered to vote. A month later, less than half of the nearly 25,000 registered voters in Ferguson bothered to go to the polls in the mid-term elections. There was no breakdown by ethnicity of the number who actually did bother to vote. But given the general pattern of less voter participation by minorities in mid-term elections, and the far greater participation of older, conservative white voters, almost certainly, the turnout of black voters in Ferguson was abysmal.
The one faint stir of optimism is the recall petition filed against the current mayor James Knowles. He has made it clear he won’t step down. He moved quickly to pose as the change agent, held a high profile press conference, and mobilized black support to beat back the recall effort. Despite his protestations and promises to jump hard on the reform train, he can’t separate himself from a rigid, racially balkanized city government structure that has maintained iron-clad political control, and a racially polarizing police force and city administration.
The reasons for the chronic past absences of blacks from the Ferguson polls in part mirror the reasons for the persistent low minority voter turnout in local and national election in past years. The oft-cited reasons are apathy, disinterest, GOP voter suppression, the sense that their vote won’t change anything, that there’s little difference between the two parties, and the inherent distrust of politicians. There’s also the deep sense that the Democratic Party routinely takes the black vote for granted and that Democratic elected officials, no matter their color, offer few tangible programs and initiatives to deal with poverty, joblessness, the stratospheric black incarceration rates, and gaping health and education racial disparities. Other than the well-publicized voter outreach and mobilization campaigns that Democrats launch in the immediate run-up to a national election, there is no sustained effort to energize and engage black voters.
A standard rule in American politics is that politicians appeal to, mobilize and champion programs and initiatives that are dear to the voters who are likely to vote for them. The other part of that rule is that those voters are for the most part white, middle class and politically vocal. The poor, especially the black poor, have never fit that demographic. Ferguson has been a near textbook example of the cycle of neglect on the part of the city council, mayor and city administration. African-Americans in Ferguson have read the political tea leaves and responded with their indifference.
Despite this entrenched pattern and past voting obstacles, there are compelling reasons for Ferguson blacks to rush to the barricades to vote. One is the prospect of a regime change at city hall and the police force. Another is they could move to dump the despicable near shakedown racket that city officials have run for years that criminalizes virtually the city’s entire black population. Police and the courts issued 16,000 arrest warrants in one year in Ferguson, a city of less than 25,000. Many of the warrants were for unpaid parking and traffic tickets. The offenders were arrested, and sometimes rearrested with the fines doubling and tripling. The fines enriched city coffers as well as the pockets of a few public officials.
Another is, there’s no excuse. The only requirement to vote is to be 18, a U.S. citizen and resident of Ferguson. A person can register at dozens of locations, from city hall to churches, by mail, and at all DMV and welfare offices. The April 7 election can be a turning point for Ferguson. If it’s not, and Ferguson stays Ferguson, then blacks have no one to blame but themselves.
The author
“The only requirement to vote is to be 18, a U.S. citizen and resident of Ferguson.”
Can their felons vote? Might make a difference; from what I’ve seen on TV, it probably would...
Well, they could stop listening to the commie agitators from out of town. But do they know better?
Translation: We're fikkin to rig that election, oh yeah!
What White Person would want to run for election in Ferguson?? It’s going to be a little Detroit VERY soon.
There is a criminal gang enterprise that is being protected by the populus who are all involved, the police are truley the enemy
Ann Archy wrote: What White Person would want to run for election in Ferguson?? It’s going to be a little Detroit VERY soon.
Detroit is clearly the goal desired by the writer, who has previously advocated for separatism. The photographers of blight need a new subject anyway, I guess.
Oh noes, the black voters there have given up on Dems and will never vote GOP??
Maybe Obama needs to hold a rally there.
At this point I view them as gypsies of old (but without wagons/mobility), plopping themselves in an area then stripping it bare. Police are an obstacle to the scheme; yes, they are the enemy.
I’m sure there would be plenty of support from others for separatism...just not financial support. They want their reservations funded completely with other peoples’ money...
If we could find out how much the mayor and the city council members were paid then I think we'd have the answer to that.
Sure, the “green flight” (of business, jobs, and capital) will do them as it follows the white flight. I had never heard of Ferguson before this, and I know it is a much smaller area than normal welfare reservations; I’m puzzled at how many non-blacks insist it is a decent area (and they would know better than I would).
FYI, I traveled I-70 many times between Kansas and Indiana and I remember seeing the Ferguson exit sign while on 270. (And the Hooters restaurant in Columbia, but I haven’t pulled off there either.)
I always made sure I had a full tank of gas by Vandalia, Illinois when heading west, or by Wentzville, MO if heading east. I don’t even like to stop at rest stops in that area, unless it’s daytime and there are cars in the lot.
No offense to Ferguson, but travel has its own set of challenges, I’m not familiar with ‘Show Me’ state carry laws and I don’t need any ‘Clark Griswold’-type jackpot.
Same for KC. I know Indy, same. No country for old men, huh?
Horror movie rule #1: Stay on the interstate.
#2. If your cell phone shows, ‘No service’, get back asap on the interstate.
Good rules to live by.
I’ve never been to most of the Midwest; outside of one business trip to San Fran, I’ve been further west in Canada than I have been in the US.
Okay, I get it. What the author is proposing is that the majority demographic (race/ethnicity) of any particular village, town, city, county, state, or nation MUST reflect the dominant race/ethnicity in its government and police force.
I like that. Because it means King Putt must immediately resign and take Eric Holder and Jeh Johnson with him.
See how that works, author?
If Detroit. New Orleans, & Birmingham are any indication, a black led regime in Ferguson will improve NOTHING. Can anyone tell me of a safe, prosperous city in America run by blacks? I’d truly like to know of one. It might change my attitude.
The actions of Brown & his thug buddy, plus the rampant rioting, looting, arson, & vandalism in Ferguson indicate to me that the Black community there is mostly corrupt; incapable of correcting the problems there. The many people who think Brown was innocent are delusional, & those type of people do not make a thriving community.
The lives of the black citizens of Ferguson will not improve one iota if the white officials are replaced by black officials.
The only weird thing that ever happened to me when visiting a rest stop happened several decades ago at a pit toilet in Wisconsin. These pit toilets are fairly common in Wisconsin along non interstate two lane roads.
I had to make a quick trip to relieve pressure at this pit stop right by the Mississippi south of Ferryville. As I dashed out of my car and entered the building, I encountered a young man getting uh serviced by an older man. The young man was standing and the old man was kneeling facing the young man. I think you get the picture.
Upon my walking-racing in, the young man sped out of the place, raced to his vehicle, and tore out of the parking lot. The older man receded into one of the toilet stalls. I finished emptying my bladder and got out of there.
I later read a story in the local news that area male homosexuals were using these pit toilets for sexual encounters. The state authorities did a number of raids on them and arrested some people. But I'll never forget that particular stop.
Here in NJ they actually permanently closed a rest stop because of that stuff; gross.
As long as they vote Democrat, felons or anyone else for that matter, can vote. Multiple times if they so desire. Like everything else they touch, the Democrats have corrupted the election process.
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